Keystone XL oil pipeline now major sticking point on payroll tax cut extension

House Republicans Friday unveiled their bill to extend the payroll tax cut, jobless benefits and the Medicare reimbursement formula, setting up an early week vote and a Christmastime showdown with the Democratic Senate.

The bill — called the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011 — is nearly 370 pages, and includes peripheral issues such as restarting the stalled Keystone XL pipeline project, altering of environmental regulations and the selling of broadband spectrum.

Text Size

-

+

reset

POLITICO 44

“This package does not include everything Republicans would like, nor does it have all that Democrats have called for,” House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a Friday statement. “But it is a win for the American people and worthy of the president’s signature.”

Democrats are not so sure. The bill, which tacks to the right ideologically, is an attempt to gin up support in the House Republican Conference — and President Barack Obama has already voiced strong opposition to the pipeline provision. Democrats object to a series of other measures, including shortening the duration of jobless aid from 99 weeks to 59 weeks and alterations to Medicare. The Congressional Budget Office said Friday that the GOP proposal would increase the deficit “$166.8 billion in fiscal year 2012 and $25.3 billion over the 2012-2021 period” but would also reduce spending in the next 10 years.

In a Friday statement, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the GOP bill is the “only” proposal that fulfills Obama’s request for “an extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance and job creation.”

Congressional Democratic leaders are united in their opposition to the Republicans’ plan.

In a statement Friday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said: “If the House sends us their bill with Keystone in it, they are just wasting valuable time because it will not pass the Senate.” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) accused Republicans of adding measures that are “designed to sink the payroll tax cut.”

So they’re forging ahead on an alternate proposal. Senate Democrats are considering putting together a broad bill that extends a host of expiring programs, and dropping a millionaires’ surtax in order to win GOP support. If they go that route, both chambers could be on a collision course ahead of next Friday’s targeted adjournment date.

But top GOP aides have another message for the Senate: This is a last offer.

“Once we pass a bill, Senate Democrats will start pushing for Republicans to ‘negotiate.’ That’s [not going to happen],” said a GOP leadership aide. “We aren’t going to negotiate with ourselves when they haven’t passed anything. The Senate needs to pass a bill.”

Senate Democrats predictably disagree, and point to several occasions when the GOP tried to drop a bill in their lap but compromised in the end.

“We can’t control what House Republicans do, but we’re going to stay in D.C. working to protect the middle class,” said a Senate Democratic leadership aide. “They may want to leave town so they can get home and pretend this issue is going away, but it’s not going to.”

But time is short — there are but five days before Dec. 16, when Boehner says he wants to leave town.

Tax extensions are not the only thing lawmakers must finish. The government runs out of money on Dec. 16, and Congress must pass a funding bill to avoid a shutdown.

The issue of right or wrong of extended unemployment benefits ignores the political reality looming over the 2012 election for House seats.

The bottom line is that unemployed voters' households are going to pull the lever for the Democrat running for Congress. Additionally, the Republicans are betting that there are not enough ****ed off voters to hand them a defeat in November.

This is high stakes politics and a risk that will cost the Republicans any chance of keeping their majority in the House.

Seems kind of fishy. Obama does his usual delay of the pipeline because the State Department (?) needs to study it. But you know he wanted to approve it for the jobs.

Now the GOP puts together a payroll tax breaks bill based on getting the pipeline on the table. There's something going on where Obama saves face on the pipeline...you know the usual, "well, I only approved because the GOP would not have dealt with the payroll tax/unemployment benefits extension if I didn't..." like he did when he extended tax cuts for the rich.

What does the GOP get out of it? We'll see...

Vote all incumbents out in 2012 as a start in taking back our great country.

Interesting that AFP is reporting Obama may back off on his Keystone veto threat. Maybe Harry will rethink his stance against it as the clock ticks down for Obama's Hawaiian Adventure-the Sequel!!!!!

I am sure he got an earful last night around the dinner table about ruining the family Christmas, no, strike that, Holiday Vacation because of some dumb bill!!!!! I can see Obama playing Chevy Chase now!!!!!!

Who knows, there may be some people fooled by the GOP tricks, but as time goes on it appears to be fewer and fewer.

For the Republican controlled House to issue an ultimatum to the Senate, the President, and the country is arrogant. They are just one part of a government with three branches, but in this case they are counting on their GOP colleagues in the Senate to prevent any other bill passing in the hope of claiming that failure of the payroll tax-cut extension—which is really their goal in all this—is the Senate's fault.

No wonder the reputation of Congress is so low among the people. It has become a corrupt institution serving only the rich.

If it is questionable behavior and ultimatums, my friend, you have only to go to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. One stop shopping for all those types of rhetorical threats. Remember, the stimulus ultimatum, Obamacare, the jobs bill ultimatum, the cash for clunkers ultimatum, ad nauseum.... do it now or everything will collapse? ...well, turns out that wasn't the case, but just BS. Hurry up so you don't read or learn anything and I can keep you in the dark until it is too late.

Guess the Republicans don't respect the judgement of the Republican governor of Nebraska, who is opposed to this. I've just been reading about past attempts to put the nuclear waste dump over the aquifier in west Texas. Plan was by a financial supporter of Gov. Perry. Don't these people realize that without water, nothing else matters? Personally I would rather pay the payroll tax, cut some of the tax breaks on the wealthiest, starting with the interest on second homes. Also raise the income covered by the payroll tax to at least $150,000. Cannot believe anyone would support privatizing SS. Many people lost all their savings in the 2000 stock market crash, leaving many of the rest of us to have our savings detroyed in 2008. People are surviving on tiny SS checks because their savings vanished, not because they did not save. Most people have SS of around $1000, which is a low amount to live on, in case this is news to some of these congressmen who want to cut benefits

Once again Senate Dems reject an as yet unpassed House bill, while refusing to put their own out there for consideration. Maybe they know it can't pass the reality test. The money to pay for extending UEC and the SS "holiday" is BORROWED, from our children and grandchildren.

Once again Senate Dems reject an as yet unpassed House bill, while refusing to put their own out there for consideration. Maybe they know it can't pass the reality test. The money to pay for extending UEC and the SS "holiday" is BORROWED, from our children and grandchildren.

Once again Senate Dems reject an as yet unpassed House bill, while refusing to put their own out there for consideration. Maybe they know it can't pass the reality test. The money to pay for extending UEC and the SS "holiday" is BORROWED, from our children and grandchildren.

Why were the Bush era cuts passed with such great zeal - to support millionaires and billionaires who also got a great bailout package for their bad investments - yet blue collar and ordinary Americans get the shaft when it comes to legislation and taxes? This is absurd. There is no amount of rationalization that can make this seem right.

I thought the right fully supported tax cuts - but it seems they're trying to kill this bill - why is that?

Once again Senate Dems reject an as yet unpassed House bill, while refusing to put their own out there for consideration. Maybe they know it can't pass the reality test. The money to pay for extending UEC and the SS "holiday" is BORROWED, from our children and grandchildren.

If you are going to pass a bill that creates jobs, you might as well put something like Keystone in it that will actually create jobs.

Not so fast....the EIR process has not be completed yet. only a Draft EIR has been done and questions and clarification has not been addressed/answered yet. The EIR has not ben approved and accepted......the state Department has not signed off on it yet........a Presidential Permit has not been issued. There is too much environmentally at stake and the US ould be liable for 80% of the clean up.

Contrary to whatever Boehner and other congressional Republicans are pushing the approval of this pipeline is the under the direct constitutional business of the State Department and the President because this is an "international" pipeline.

And this pipeline is really not in the best interest of the US including the bulk of the refined diesel oil that will be exported from a designated Foreign Trade Zone which will enable the Canadian Oil Company, Valero, and other oil companies involved a legal duty-free/no tax option. In other words any oil produced/refined and exported from this foreign trade zone will be not subject to federal, state, and local tax rules unless it re-enters the US. Again millions in loss revenue and again oil companies get off with paying no taxes and generating millions/trillions in profits while hiring 20,000 workers? Not a good trade off .........and Boehner knows this.

This whole situation puts the lie to Obama's promises on jobs. He only wants the right kind of jobs created. It's hard to believe that we have a President who wouldn't immediately jump on any proposal that might create jobs at this point.

Instead of approving the Keystone Pipeline, I'm thinking that there's got to be another foreign country...like Brazil... which our President will gladly hand our hard-earned money rsulting in the jobs for that country's citizens.

EVERYONE is for "clean" EVERYTHING. When solar and wind become something other than an ideological fantasy, I'll be on board. Until then, I am so over minority ideologues stealing money we no longer have.

Perhaps we can encourage the President to hand out billions more to supporters that are on the brink of failure to pay them for their continuing support during the 2012 election cycle. Naturally, I wouldn't want to upset the President's ideological apple cart by suggesting to him that energy independence is likely to become a serious security issue while he's occupying himself with demonizing everyone and anyone that can deflect responsibility from himself.